ERA Response to Government's Energy White Paper

23 May 2007

Today the Government announced its energy strategy and this is the response of the Energy Retail Association on behalf of Britain’s main electricity and gas suppliers.

Smart Meters - Is this a Golden Opportunity Lost? 

"We welcome the Government's recognition of the need to encourage people to be more energy-aware.  We are also pleased to see that Government and industry share the view that "within the next 10 years all domestic energy customers will have smart meters".

However, the Energy Retail Association is disappointed that the Government did not use this golden opportunity to fully promote the roll-out of interactive smart meters which would have revolutionised the use of energy in homes across the country. Energy suppliers fully support the implementation of intelligent smart meters as they can provide accurate information, to the customer and supplier, on the energy being used. We have been pushing for this for some time as they will allow us to move on from estimated bills, replace token meters and bring about the end of meter readings.

Instead, the Government appears be talking about electricity display devices which are a gimmick measure as they do not address the real challenge at hand - they only work for electricity (not gas) and they give time-delayed information (rather than real time). There is also a very real concern over the dangers if they are installed incorrectly and we want to make it clear that the industry will not be liable for this decision.

Doubling Energy Efficiency Tax on Fuel Bills

"We fully support the Government's commitment to incentivise the energy industry to move away from selling energy to embracing an energy services model. It makes sense for the industry, the Government in its bid to tackle climate change and for energy-conscious households.

The Government has today announced that it wants to see a "doubling" of the energy efficiency commitment (EEC) on industry between 2008-2011. This means that the EEC obligation on suppliers has moved from £300 million from 2002-2005, then £700 million from 2005-2008 and now over £1bn for the next three year period.

We believe that in order to be transparent, the Government needs to make consumers aware that they want to double the energy efficiency tax on each and every household energy bill. This is particularly important while we try to address the issue of fuel poverty and supporting those on low incomes paying their energy bills.

Winter Communications Strategy - Working with the Home Heat Helpline 

"We welcome the Government's proposal for a "cross-Government communications campaign in time for winter 2007/2008, so that all the help currently available, be it energy efficiency, benefits advice, tariff advice or advice on how to stay healthy in winter is coordinated and easily accessible".

The energy industry established the Home Heat Helpline (0800 33 66 99) in October 2005 to provide a central point of contact for vulnerable customers worried about their energy bills and it has received over 50,000 calls.

The Home Heat Helpline is now backed by over twenty leading charities and has received support from nearly 100 Parliamentarians. We have been talking to the Government for some time about the benefit to consumers of using a single point of contact and we look forward to hearing its imminent decision on what role the Home Heat Helpline will have this winter in this communications campaign."